You Still Love Me
by classica87
Summary: But it was still in her eyes. She was still there. She still loved him, even after all this time. Just like the Sakura two and a half years ago. SasuSaku OneShot.


Naruto had come back. Two and a half years- and it still hurt, because he still wasn't there. All that time, she just got stronger; to bring him back, to do_ something, anything _to help. Six months left to try, and they didn't even know where he was. But even through the pain, the tears, the depression, she never lost hope. His words came back to her always- it didn't matter now what it meant, only that he said it. She lost sleep, just hearing those words echoing in his rich, gravelly voice. _'Thank you.'_ Just hanging onto those words, it hurt more than living, but it was hope. A hope that they needed, that _she _needed.

And somehow that little light gave her a sense of normalcy, but that hurt was still there, and they could all see it- Kakashi, Naruto, everyone. As much as she tried to hide behind her smile, it never made a difference. They still knew, no matter how much she tried. She just didn't want them to have to share her pain; it was hard enough, and knowing it affected them only made it worse. So she smiled, and lived, and tried, but no matter how much she did, it always came back; _he_ always came back.

And she couldn't deny she loved him, even as much as she hated him for betraying his friends, for leaving her alone there. As much as she tried to push him away, he only came back. _His words always came back._ And she couldn't stop loving him. And then it hurt again, knowing he was never coming back.

And she thought she would never get the chance to see him again, until that day. She had never been so happy. Tsunade had told her they knew where he was.

"I have a mission for you," she had said, "and I thought maybe you'd better do this on your own. We know where he is, Sakura." And she had smiled, "This is your chance to bring him back."

It was only her- an A ranked high priority mission, that had the possibility of turning into an S ranked. But Tsunade knew she had to do this alone. With only six months left, there was no other choice, and she was the only person who had a chance of convincing him. So she had left the village.

"I'm going for a walk." It wasn't like he expected an answer though, they never questioned him about anything. Grunting, Orochimaru's raven-haired apprentice, now around nineteen, made his way out into the woods. He never expected to find what he did.

She was collapsed there, in a shaded clearing. There had obviously been a fight, most likely some distance away from here. It took a moment, but like all things that surprised him, he only blinked to make sure he was correct. Yes, it was- Haruno Sakura. She had the hair.

He walked silently with her in his arms back to the base before handing her over to the gray haired medic. He said nothing, only grunted before seating himself in a chair beside the wall.

All the while Kabuto healed her, he sat there with his onyx eyes locked on her still form. After a while he nodded and left, not once giving any sign of his noticing the fact it was her.

She almost though her eyes had tricked her as she lay there only half conscious, but it was _him. _And then he said her name, but she didn't say anything back. She just lay there staring in disbelief.

He had grown. Oh yes, _he had. _But the anger was still there, and he was still a traitor, and he had still betrayed them. And she couldn't stop herself from hating him right then, for all her pain. "Traitor." she spat. And he left.

Her reaction- it was not what he had expected. She had grown considerably. She was strong. But for all her exterior, he saw it in her eyes. She still loved him, even after all this time. Just like the Sakura two and a half years ago.

But he came back, and this time she sat up. "What?" she scowled. She was glaring at him, but it was still in her eyes. _She was still there._

"Sakura." he repeated her name. His face was emotionless. His dark onyx eyes had grown cold.

But her pain and what she had done to him, and that was nothing? "Go away." and he shook his head. "Is that all you can say? After all you've done, that's it?" She was mad now. She punched him without looking, and she wasn't surprised he caught it, but he was. Yes she was strong.

Sakura yanked her wrist from him and stomped out. And when he found her, she was sitting there-_ under the Sakura tree. _And she had gotten so worked up, she collapsed again, and he carried her back inside.

She woke up in the middle of the night, but she wasn't in the right place. Automatically she panicked, her eyes wide in the pitch black dark. And she gasped when a warm hand pulled her back down. And she heard _his _voice. She was with _him_.

"Sasuke?" For once, he heard the real her in that voice. He heard _his_ Sakura.

"Yes." And she felt his hand on the side of her face, rubbing circles on her cheeks. But it was different- it was gentle. Her eyes adjusted to the dark and she saw him there, just watching her. But his eyes were different. They looked _alive_; through all that coldness, he was _real._

_"Sasuke."_ And she couldn't help the tears, knowing that all along, he had cared. Knowing that even after all this time he hadn't forgotten, that he loved her.

His calloused thumb wiped them away, and he arms wrapped around her waist. But she pushed him away. "N-no, I can't. We can't do this."

His breath was warm on her face, and he spoke in that same husky voice. "What's the matter Sakura? Isn't this what you wanted?"

"Y-yes." He wrapped his arms around her again and she couldn't help but shudder underneath his hands. His fingers ran down her shoulders, and she was still surprised at how gentle, how soft it was.

"I knew you would come," he whispered, a playful lilt on his words, "you always did like saving me." His words sounded so good. She had waited so long to hear him again.

"Sasuke." She ran her fingers through his black hair, wrapping her pale arms around his neck.

And he looked down at her eyes, those beautiful, shining, emerald eyes. Like they had always been. "You've changed," he said, "but after all these years, you're still beautiful."

"Sasuke, Sakura, they're back!"

There hadn't been a grin that large on the jinchuuriki's face for quite some time. But yet there they were, standing at the gates. And he was there.

"You're back!" His cry had been broken by a round punch in the face.

"Idiot," Sasuke smirked, amused at Sakura's reaction, " be quiet."

Naruto frowned. "Why? You're home an all I can do is be quiet?"

"Yes," he replied, "you'll wake her."

"Who?" he demanded, loudly.

Sakura smiled, barring the glaring Sasuke as he moved. "Kina."

The Uchiha's dark eyes softened at the small bundle in her arms. His daughter, _the first of the Uchiha Clan._


End file.
